Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, I'm not spending a lot more time at home than I otherwise would, and as one means of entertainment I've been scouring the depths of this forum. One interesting suggestion from 2013 was for an 'All Tube' FNC, that is one in which no means of public transport ther than tube was and no running outside of stations was allowed. The discussion at the time seemed to reach the comclusion that this count do be one in one day, but it was (perhaps jokingly) suggested that it could be started on New Year's Eve, when trains run through the night.

But that was 2013. We now have night tube. So, with an early start on a Friday morning, such an FNC might be possible. One would have to remember that night tube doesn't cover all parts of the network, so a middle of the night finish at Amersham/Chesham or Upminster is not possible, and Heathrow T5 and Epping are not sensible. (Night tube doesn't run between Woodford and Hailnault or on the Heathrow T4 loop, so both of those sections would have to be done earlier anyway.)

As something else to do during lockdown, I have devised a (probably not very good) route and got a schedule for it - estimated time is 21 hours, 42 minutes! I have been very strict with the interpretation of the criteria, not even allowing for trains which run on the same tracks as those used by underground trains (this would save time in the NW corner if allowed) and not allowing for foot connections between Bank/Monument and the 2 halves of Paddington. I have opted for an Olympia start and a Morden finish. (No wonder it takes so long!)

This raises 2 question:

1) What is the fastest route on such a plan? (Going for an evening Olympia would undoubtedly save time.)

If you're going for Fri into Sat, could you not tap into the regular Saturday service to Olympia?

So my original idea was to do as much as possible with regular weekday daytime service then run-over into night tube when the regular service finishes, as night tube is less frequent. But given that I'm timetabled to finish about an hour and a quarter before the Saturday day service kicks in, then yes we could span the thing across two days, with Olympia early on Saturday morning. Then pick a weekend when the Heathrow brach isn't closed so we have a T5 finish?

Twice former full network GWR holder and former Zone 1 Olympic and World Record holder with The Raven and SoupieTube personality of the year 2009Twice Winter Olympic Biathlon Gold Medalist with The Beer Baron 2008 All Lines Olympic Gold

So it's possible, not a completely horrendous thing to do, and there is a time of 23 hours and something already set. As it's discussed as a Cat C record on the linked thread, does this mean it wasn't the first time an FNC was made like this? Anybody know what the record is for 270 stations as a Cat C?

Based on what the participants of last year's effort looked like the following day a few suggestions...

- Do not do a parkrun the following morning.
- Do not follow up the challenge (especially if doing a parkrun already) with a R15.
- If you absolutely must do a R15 following this challenge and a parkrun, then don't choose a round with a champion's twist that just makes it all take longer (winks @xcooler123)

Based on what the participants of last year's effort looked like the following day a few suggestions...

- Do not do a parkrun the following morning.
- Do not follow up the challenge (especially if doing a parkrun already) with a R15.
- If you absolutely must do a R15 following this challenge and a parkrun, then don't choose a round with a champion's twist that just makes it all take longer (winks @xcooler123)